Blonde Bombshell's Busby Bear Beef

Former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson has sent a petition to Queen Elizabeth II urging Britain's monarch to stop the use of bear pelts in making the tall black helmets worn by palace guards.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, said Anderson collected 200 signatures from fans in Britain and mailed the petition to Buckingham Palace on Friday. A palace spokeswoman refused to comment.

In her petition, the 37-year-old actress argued that synthetic materials should be used to make the hats worn by guards who patrol the palace gate.

The towering black hat, or busby, dates back almost 200 years to the Battle of Waterloo and is a key part of the uniform of the five guards' regiments — the Coldstream, Grenadier, Irish, Scots and Welsh. It also features in traditional ceremonies like Trooping the Color and the Changing of the Guard.

"We the undersigned urge the queen to call on the Ministry of Defense to cease the use of real fur on the uniforms for the regiment of foot guards," the petition said.

Anderson collected the signatures at a London store where she was signing copies of her new novel on Thursday.

"PETA has worked with a top faux fur manufacturer to produce a material that is now being field tested by the Ministry of Defense to replace bear fur, but during this process bears continue to be killed to make these ceremonial hats," said a PETA spokeswoman.

But army spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Dick-Peter said no suitable synthetic alternative had yet been found.

"The army has been working closely with PETA because they say they can produce a satisfactory alternative using artificial fiber," he said. "So far, PETA has signally failed to do so."

He added that "no bears are killed simply for the caps. The bears are killed to control the population. Where we can use an artificial alternative, we do so."

Fake leopard skin is now worn by drummers in marching bands, while the smaller busby worn by members of the King's Troop is no longer made from beaver fur.